Sealegs

Sealegs is a clever invention in more ways than one.

Firstly it is a brilliantly simple and perfectly executed technological solution. Secondly it is a beautiful piece of marketing in that it's a product created to fill one identified need - easier launching - and solves it. It doesn't try to be all amphibious craft to all people - it isn't a car that goes in the water, it's a normal power boat with a top speed on land of just 10km/hr. Maurice Bryham lives on the beach at Milford in Auckland. He's the founder of well-known IT company PC Direct, and 'a bit of a handyman'.

Watching people struggle with their boats in the surf, he decided to solve their problem. And he wasn't daunted by the fact that since the wheel and the boat had been invented, thousands had tried, and nobody had succeeded in putting them together.